The Second Companion (2)

The Siren sank into the lake, offering no resistance.

"Wh-what?!"

What was going on? Why was she acting like that all of a sudden?

I had been expecting our Bond to skyrocket, so her reaction left me completely bewildered. Wait, so that intense reaction earlier wasn't because she wanted to eat the kaiju? A wave of shock hit me.

At the same time, a deep sense of crisis washed over me. I needed to build up our Bond as fast as possible, but instead, I had just lost points.

Without hesitation, I dove into the lake.

It didn't matter that she was a lake-dwelling kaiju who could breathe underwater. All that mattered was recovering those lost points. With that single-minded focus, I forced my eyes open beneath the surface.

The lake was crystal ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠clear. I easily spotted the sinking Siren and cut through the water toward her.

She was drifting deeper, her arms stretched toward the sky. I grabbed her arm. After a brief hesitation, I reached to wrap my arm around her waist to pull her up.

But the moment I did, she slowly opened her eyes.

Those eyes were as beautiful as ever, but they held ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a chilling coldness. She stared at me with a hollow, sunken gaze, completely motionless.

I met her gaze head-on.

We locked eyes for what felt like an eternity in the close quarters of the water. It was freezing. Both her icy reaction and the temperature of the lake sent shivers down my spine.

Running out of breath, I mouthed a single word:

Sorry.

The Siren didn't move. But perhaps my sincerity reached her. She grabbed my arm in turn and pulled us both toward the surface.

"..."

Once back on land, an awkward silence settled between us. She didn't react violently like before; she just stared at me quietly. Honestly, this was even scarier.

However, apologizing repeatedly might not be the best approach, especially considering the special relationship I hoped to establish with her. Whether we became companions or had a hierarchical relationship... either way, it wouldn't look good if I ended up subordinate to her.

I let out a soft sigh and organized my thoughts.

Had I taken my abilities too lightly?

It made sense. Awakening happens suddenly, spoon-feeding you power. My ability to summon gates at will the moment I awakened was proof of that. Because of this, I had started taking everything related to my awakening for granted. Even my Contract with Yugi had gone without a hitch.

But contracts and Bond were entirely different beasts. They weren't skills you could activate with a simple click. They were matters of the heart. They required time, consideration, and respect. It was an issue that had to be approached from one living being to another, not as a mere system mechanic.

"Wait here a moment," I told the Siren after gathering my thoughts.

I headed back to the lake. I fished out the bloated kaiju corpses I had carelessly thrown in, thinking, 'Well, Yugi liked it, so you will too.' I stuffed the soggy carcasses back into the sack and tied it shut.

"Whew."

I walked back to the Siren. She was still watching me with those heavy, sunken eyes. I reached into my pocket, pulled out a pure gold bean, and offered it to her.

"I was actually planning to save this for the grand finale, but things didn't go as planned. Do you... not like this either?"

I asked anxiously, but it turned out to be a completely useless worry. The moment she saw the pure gold bean, her face flushed red and her mouth fell open. Of course, she regained her poker face within a second.

"...Looks like you like it. Thank goodness."

What a relief. The pure gold bean was the only gift I had bought with her actually in mind, a present of genuine sincerity. Thinking she would like shiny things, I had emptied my bank account to buy it. It was absolutely not because gold is easy to resell at face value if she didn't like it. Absolutely not.

Anyway... my hand was starting to go numb from holding it out. She swallowed hard, seemingly locked in a deep internal conflict. Left with no choice, I relaxed my fingers. The gold bean slipped and fell.

I did this knowing that if she didn't catch it, I could just use Gate Summon to bring it right back into my hand.

Startled, the Siren lunged forward and caught the gold bean. She blinked, perhaps regretting her knee-jerk reaction, but her eyes gradually began to sparkle. She was completely mesmerized by the gold bean.

Is it really that good?

I suppressed a chuckle and said, "I'll head out for today. And... I'm sorry about earlier."

The Siren stared at me, carefully cradling the gold bean in both hands. I didn't even know if she understood my words. Regardless, I didn't want to pressure her any further today. I grabbed the sack of carcasses and summoned a gate. Just as I stepped through...

A chuckle escaped my lips when I saw the sudden system update. Man, I would've been in deep trouble if I hadn't given her that.

A few days later, at a quiet bar near the Association. I met Kim Na-hyun at a luxurious establishment that felt completely out of touch with the current state of society. I wondered why of all places she had called me to a bar... but I didn't mind. A high-end place like this wasn't somewhere just anyone could walk into.

The staff's extremely deferential attitude the moment I stepped inside put me in a good mood. Once I received my Awakener's necklace, I'd probably get this kind of treatment wherever I went, not just in bars. And that was exactly why Kim Na-hyun had called me here. My hunter rank.

"...Are these people the evaluation panel? Are they affiliated with the Association too?"

I asked, a sudden question popping up as I watched Kim Na-hyun's Magic Video Projection. Even though I wasn't well-versed in the hunter world, these were faces I recognized. The hunters who ruled South Korea. People who loved ranking things called them the 10 Great Powers, right?

"It's a bit complicated," Kim Na-hyun replied. "They're registered with the Association, but they keep their distance. If a conflict ever arose between their guilds and the Association, they'd probably draw their swords against us in a heartbeat."

The Association was relatively loose with its regulations. While some, like Kim Na-hyun, fully committed themselves to working for it, most hunters simply registered and did their own thing. The Association itself wasn't a particularly powerful organization. Still, I hadn't expected such giants to be registered members.

"...The one who called me a kaiju, that was him, right?"

Kim Na-hyun let out a deep sigh. "You mean Kim Hosung? Yes, that's him. The very first S-class hunter in South Korea."

As expected of an S-class. While the other evaluators merely marveled, Kim Hosung was the only one who spoke with absolute certainty, labeling me a kaiju. The other evaluators weren't S-class, but they were still members of the 10 Great Powers. Fortunately, Kim Hosung's twisted... suspicion? It had been dismissed.

The sarcasm of another evaluator hostile to Kim Hosung. Thanks to that, the attention on me had completely vanished.

That explained why Kim Na-hyun had called me to a bar. Fighting inside the Association building to the point where the entire structure shook must have been incredibly troublesome. Of course, to people of their caliber, it was probably just a minor clash of egos. Even watching it through a video made my head spin; I couldn't imagine how stressful it must have been for Kim Na-hyun, who was actually there.

I picked up the bottle and refilled her empty glass.

"Hang in there."

Kim Na-hyun smiled in response. "But it's not something we can just laugh off. In truth, Kim Hosung has killed highly promising hunters in the past. Though the exact details were never made public."

"...That's a bit terrifying."

"Did I say too much? I just thought you ought to know..."

"No, it's not too much. It's helpful."

I'll need to come up with a countermeasure soon.

Before the uneasy feeling could fester, I changed the subject. "So, what happens to my rank now?"

Kim Na-hyun drained her freshly filled glass in one gulp. "Whew... Since we couldn't possibly gather those people again, we conducted an internal review, synthesizing the opinions from the evaluation."

She placed a box she had kept beside her onto the table. When she opened it, an Awakener's license and a necklace embedded with a blue gemstone were revealed.

"You've been assigned B-class. I can... congratulate you, right?" she asked cautiously.

I silently picked up the necklace from the box. The cool touch of the blue gem pressed against my skin. I was happy. But was I ecstatic enough to jump up and down? Not quite. Maybe it was because it didn't feel real yet, or maybe because it had been too easy. Or perhaps it was because I didn't fully grasp the true value of a B-class hunter.

Thus, rather than immediate joy, I harbored a more practical expectation.

"...Now that I'm an official hunter, does this mean I can participate in Gate raids?"

"Of course."

"Great."

At least I wouldn't have to worry about making ends meet anymore. Well, even putting that aside, I needed money right away to win over the Siren.

Tilting her head at my lukewarm reaction, Kim Na-hyun suddenly seemed to have an idea and cleared her throat. "Ahem, would you like me to look into a decent Gate for you?"

Back home, I was fiddling with Maple silver coins and pure gold bars. I had bought them with the money I received from Kim Na-hyun. For some reason, she hadn't just secured me a Gate raid permit; she had also asked if I was short on cash and practically forced a loan on me, telling me to pay her back whenever. I had refused repeatedly, but ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you can't stop someone determined to slip money into your pockets.

Well, it wasn't an overwhelming amount, and it was certainly something I could pay back. Normally, I would never have spent money like this, but with the conditions for the Siren's contract so close to being met, I swallowed my pride and bought them.

The condition set by the Kaiju Illustrated Book was 50 Bond. With only 3 Bond left to go, how could I not feel anxious?

"Whew... I hope this is enough to reach 50."

Controlling the size of the gates was child's play now. I summoned a gate just barely large enough for my body to squeeze through. Slipping the treasures into my pockets, I stepped through. If I carried them openly from the start, it would ruin the dramatic effect.

As I crossed the threshold, a breathtaking landscape greeted me. Swimming freely in the vast lake, the Siren spotted me. Her gaze was unusual. She stared intently at my face with sparkling eyes.

"...What? Did I do something wrong again?"

My heart skipped a beat. We were so close; it would be devastating to fail now. Of course, I had resolved not to let myself get too hung up on things after our first meeting, but still.

But rendering my worries entirely pointless, the system projected the Siren's emotions.

Her gaze wasn't fixed on my face, but on my neck. Ah. She wanted the Awakener's necklace. If I don't give this to her, is my Bond going to drop again...?